Chapter 60
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 60
At his words, he felt the arms holding him tighten.
“Hehe…”
A giggle escaped from the head buried in his chest.
As a feeling swelled inside him, as if it might burst, Dokyun reached out and began stroking the hair of the head leaning against him.
“Th-Then…”
She spoke again.
Lifting her head from his chest, she looked up at him, her expression tinged with anxiety. Her lips trembled for a moment before she finally managed to speak.
“H-Honeybee-nim… you’ll… you’ll keep staying with me, right…?”
It was the same question she’d asked just moments ago, despite already hearing his answer.
What’s making her so anxious that she needs constant reassurance?
He mulled it over until a thought finally surfaced. Perhaps the answer lay in the time she had erased from her mind.
Could it be that the memories she had erased for her own sake had been too painful to bear?
Could the emotional fragments left behind from those erased memories be what was making her so anxious?
Could the reason she became this way be the profound impact of a separation from someone she held dear?
Probably…
Her mother.
Could it be that her mother, the one who abused her and yet the one she loved so dearly, had left her, causing her to become like this?
He had learned so much about her, but there was still far more he didn't know. This was as far as his speculation could take him.
“Y-You’re not leaving, right…?” she pressed again.
Even as he was lost in thought, he could see the anxiety deepening on her face. He couldn’t delay his answer any longer. This time, Dokyun pulled her into an even tighter embrace and replied.
“I’m not going anywhere. I’ll stay right here by your side, Eun-ah.”
“Mhm…”
But even with his answer, the anxiety didn’t leave her.
The sight made his heart ache again. Wanting to see a smile on her face, he searched for the right words until an idea came to him.
“Eun-ah.”
“Yes…”
“Shall we make a Christmas tree?”
Blink, blink. Her eyes fluttered.
Dokyun let a warm smile spread across his face and continued.
“Christmas is just around the corner. Let’s make a tree.”
It was now the end of December, the tail end of the year.
It was an end, and also a beginning.
So that she would no longer feel anxious, so that she could live with the hope that the coming days would be happy, Dokyun began to paint a picture of the times to come.
“We’ll get a huge tree and hang ornaments and lights on it to make it look amazing.”
The house was certainly big enough. A decorated tree in the corner of a room would be a lovely sight.
“And we’ll get chicken, and beer… hmm, and pizza, too. We’ll get so much food we can’t possibly finish it all and have a party.”
“A party…?”
“Yes, a party. Just the two of us.”
He’d never done it before, but he was sure it would be fun.
The process of preparing, the time spent sharing a drink, laughing, and talking after the table was set—it would all be engraved deep in his heart, a memory that would never fade.
As he thought this, he looked at her and saw her tilt her head, a questioning look on her face.
Dokyun raised a hand to her cheek, stroking it gently as he continued to speak, thinking of all the things they could do together.
“After Christmas, the new year will start, so let’s go out into the yard and watch the sunrise.”
The house was large enough to be called a mansion, and the surrounding area was wide open. It would be quite a sight.
“Then, when spring comes… we can go see the flowers.”
It was the season when the world bloomed in a riot of color. As the days passed, the world would be painted in every shade imaginable.
As he went on, she suddenly spoke up.
“N-No, you can’t…!”
Her voice was urgent. She flinched, her body jolting in surprise, her face a mask of horror.
“B-But… there are lots of b-bad bugs outside… H-Honeybee-nim will get hurt…”
As she said this, her face crumpled as if she were about to cry.
He still didn’t know what those “bugs” meant, or what they signified to her.
But judging from her occasional reactions, he could guess that to her, the world outside this house was a truly terrifying place.
That thought saddened him, making his heart ache.
He stopped stroking her cheek and met her eyes directly.
“It’s okay.”
“N-No, it’s not…”
“I’ll be fine. Hmm…”
He paused, choosing his words carefully.
“If, and this is a big if, I do get hurt.”
He organized his thoughts, phrasing them in a way she could understand.
“Then you can protect me, Eun-ah.”
“Me…?”
“Yes, you.”
Was his explanation not enough? Seeing her tilt her head again, Dokyun let out a soft chuckle and continued.
“If the bugs bother me, you can scold them. You’ll be by my side, both here and outside, won’t you?”
She had never once said that she herself would be hurt by the bugs.
That meant her worries were entirely focused on what might happen to him if he went outside.
He finished his thought and watched her for a moment. He could see her humming to herself, deep in thought.
A moment of silence passed. Then, as if she had made up her mind, she looked at him with a newfound resolve, nodded, and declared,
“Y-Yes…! I… I’ll protect you, Honeybee-nim…!”
Seeing the determined look on her face made another laugh escape him.
“Well, I feel safe now. With you around, Eun-ah, I won’t have to worry about a thing.”
“Mhm…!”
A small smile began to bloom on her face.
He could see life returning to her cheeks, a faint blush spreading across them.
Then, she hugged him tightly and let out a little laugh.
“I-I’ll scold them all…!” she said, as if renewing her vow.
Dokyun chuckled, hugged her back, and said, “Okay. I’m counting on you.”
He savored her warmth for a moment before deciding to pick up where he’d left off.
“Eun-ah, do you like valleys or the ocean more?”
“Umm…”
She thought about the question for a moment.
“A-As long as I’m with you, Honeybee-nim, I… I like them all…!”
That was her answer.
“Haha…”
Dokyun felt both happy and a little troubled. After a moment’s thought, he spoke again.
“Then should we go to both?”
“Yes…!”
“Sounds good.”
At her positive reply, Dokyun once again began to paint a picture in his mind.
“First, when we go to the ocean…”
Suddenly, he trailed off.
What are we supposed to do there?
Dokyun, who had been speaking so smoothly, clamped his mouth shut. He was such a homebody he’d never even been to a stream near his house, let alone the ocean, so he had no idea what to do there.
He glanced down and saw her sparkling eyes fixed on him. Dokyun’s mind raced.
The ocean? Fireworks? A festival?
The only things that came to mind were scenes he’d only ever seen in Japanese light novels.
Just as a cold sweat began to trickle down his back, she offered an idea.
“The… the ocean… I want to eat raw fish…!”
Ah, raw fish.
Right. The ocean means raw fish.
Brightening at the unexpected support, Dokyun picked up the thread.
“Raw fish sounds great! It would be perfect with a glass of soju.”
“Mhm…!”
“And after we’ve eaten our fill…”
He continued to picture the scene in his mind.
“How about a glass of wine at a hotel with a view of the ocean?”
Wouldn’t that be romantic? Weren’t staycations at hotels all the rage these days?
With that thought, he looked at her.
“A h-hotel…!”
He could see her face flush as she let out a little huff.
Her intentions were so obvious that he found it a little funny. As Dokyun let out a soft laugh, her voice, filled with anticipation, reached him.
“Th-That sounds great…!”
The way her body fidgeted showed just how much she was looking forward to that picture.
Dokyun patted her on the back and paused for a moment before speaking again.
“Yes, we’ll walk along the beach at night, have a glass of wine, and just spend one night outside before coming back.”
“Mhm…!”
Her affirmation was bright. For some reason, the cheerful energy radiating from her was making him feel good, too.
“And after that, how about we go camping in a valley?”
It was in the mountains, so camping seemed like a good fit. Dokyun continued.
“We can grill meat, play in the water, things like that.”
“Th-That sounds great…!”
“I’ll grill the meat. I’m amazing when it comes to grilling meat, you know.”
“Ah…”
Her eyes seemed to hold a hint of doubt.
Dokyun felt his confidence waver for a second but quickly recovered, forcing a smile as he spoke.
“Just trust me on this one.”
“Okay…”
She nodded.
As he watched her for a moment, a question suddenly occurred to him.
“Is there anything you want to do with me, Eun-ah?”
“Umm…”
She began to think, her brow furrowing for a moment.
“A… a walk…!”
It was a short answer.
A walk.
The thought that popped into his head was that it was a very writer-like thing to say.
He remembered hearing somewhere that writers often go for walks when they’re stuck on a story.
The thought brought an amused smile to his face. Dokyun stroked the back of the woman in his arms and replied.
“That sounds nice. The walking paths along the Han River are supposed to be great. Should we go there?”
“Yes…!” she answered, her face lighting up.
“Then, so we don’t have to wait long, let’s go as soon as spring arrives. It might be crowded, so we’ll have to hold hands tightly and walk all day.”
“Y-Yes…! So we don’t… don’t get separated…!”
He could see the corners of her lips twitching, trying to fight back a grin.
“I-I’ll hold on… t-tight…!”
The way she puffed out her chest and spoke so proudly felt endearingly pathetic. Chuckling, Dokyun leaned forward, placed a kiss on her forehead, and said,
“Thank you. I’ll be counting on you, Eun-ah.”
“Mhm…! J-Just count on me…!”
Her smiling face burrowed back into his chest.
A pleasant warmth spread through him, and they continued talking for a long time.
They went back to the beginning, planning how they would spend the fast-approaching Christmas and the rest of the winter, where they would go for an outing in the coming spring, how they would beat the summer heat, and what they would eat in the fall when their appetites surged.
They planned for a long while, until it was finally time to plan for the next winter.
Dokyun watched her as she groaned and agonized over it, then gently stroked her hair and spoke.
“When winter begins, let’s first look back on everything we did over the year.”
They would look back on it all, so they could feel just how happy their four seasons had been.
“To do that… we’ll have to take a lot of pictures.”
It seemed they would need to leave behind many photos, so they could flip through them one by one and retrace their memories.
“We’ll talk about what we did then, and what we did at that other time, and after that, we can think about how we’ll spend the next year. Until then, and even after that, I’ll always be by your side, Eun-ah.”
So that her heart would be filled with anticipation instead of anxiety, so that she could be certain he would always be there.
He shared with her the picture he had painted in his mind.
When he finished speaking, he looked at her and saw her nod, her face completely melted with contentment.
“Th-That sounds good…!”
Was it a satisfying answer? Did she trust his words a little more now?
It seemed that the words he had so carefully chosen had finally reached her.
Confirming this, Dokyun felt his own heart finally begin to relax. He held out his hand in front of her, making a fist with only his pinky extended.
“Here, it’s a promise.”
“A promise…!”
“A promise that I’ll always stay by your side, and a promise that you’ll always protect me.”
“Mhm…!”
A delicate, soft warmth touched the tip of his finger. Then, their pinkies shyly intertwined, holding each other tight.
“S-Stamp…”
At her word, their thumbs gently bumped together.
“C-Copy…!”
Then, their flattened palms met, brushing against each other.
After their hands parted, he looked at her and saw a bright, innocent smile.
Thump. Thump.
The sound of his heart, hammering like a drum, echoed in his ears.
The fluttering in his stomach began to churn once more, like a raging wave.
Her smile was so beautiful it stole all his attention.
In that instant, he knew instinctively.
This moment would be preserved in his mind forever.
A day, a month, a year from now, and even after that, until the moment his breath stopped, it would never be erased from his heart.
And so, he would find himself forever revolving around her.
Hmm…
It was a very dangerous situation.
This is fine.
The thought occurred to him.